It is best known for its connection to the martyrdom of the Theban Legion, its original practice of perpetual psalmody, and a collection of art and antiquity.

Theodorus then gathered the local hermits in a common life, thus beginning the Community of Saint-Maurice.

In 864 he was killed in a battle at the Orbe River and was replaced by the victor, Count Conrad of Auxerre, who later became the commendatory abbot of the abbey.

Conrad's son, Rudolph I of Burgundy, who had inherited the commendatory abbacy from him, succeeded Boson as king and was crowned in 888 in a ceremony at the abbey itself, which he then made the royal residence.

The monastery remained the property of the Kingdom of Burgundy until 1033, when, through the defeat in battle of Eudes, a nephew of Rudolf III, it passed to the control of the House of Savoy.

Throughout the history of the abbey, its strategic mountain pass location and independent patronage has subjected it to the whims of war.

[8] The Romanesque tower was reconstructed in 1945 to repair damage caused by a massive falling rock.

The canons have educated students at the abbey since its foundation but the school in its modern form was opened in 1806. Notable alumni include controversial former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, former Presidents of Switzerland Alphons Egli and Pascal Couchepin and former chairman of the Swiss National Bank Jean-Pierre Roth.